I've Been Watching #10

Hey everyone!

While I've been uploading lots of film and tv related videos over on my channel, it's been a while since my last I've Been Watching post! So thought I would update you on what films and TV shows I've been glued to lately!

TV

Pretty Little Liars

For years now, I've been saying that I need to get into Pretty Little Liars. As a life-long teen TV drama addict, I needed something to replace the giant Gossip Girl/Veronica Mars shaped hole in my life. I still have The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, but PLL had been on my "to watch" list since it hit the screens way back in 2010. Finally Netflix added it to their ever expanding catalogue in January, and it's safe to say I'm addicted.

I cannot stop watching this show. It gets to crazy o'clock in the morning and while my head says "go to sleep", Netflix says "continue watching" and somehow my hand manages to click yes. I spend the majority of my time going "RIGHT, go to the police", but somehow that just makes it even better. This might be a teen television show, but honestly, it is much creepier than I had been expecting! I'm currently devouring season 3 (soon to be season 4), and there have been so many unexpected twists and turns along the way so far. If you can avoid reading spoilers, avoid like the plague - it makes it so much better when you have no idea what's coming!!

An added bonus is that I actually love all four of the main characters. If you have no idea what the show is about, season one kicks off a year after sixteen year old Alison DiLaurentis goes missing from her home in Rosewood, Pennsylvania. Twelve months on, her four best friends Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Emily, start receiving threatening texts and notes from the mysterious A, who knows far too many of their secrets, and is prepared to use them against them. Whether they're at home, at school, or even out of town, A knows exactly where they are, what they're doing, and what to do to hurt them the most. Cue constant fear, torment, and double crossing, with an excellent wardrobe, brilliant soundtrack, and, as always, a very attractive cast. What more could you ask for?!

P.S. I have so much love for Spencer Hastings - she's my kind of character. And, at this point (who knows how I'll feel an episode from now, never mind a season from now), I would quite like to marry Wren. It should be illegal to be that attractive.

Once Upon a Time - Season 4

My beloved OUAT is back!! Season 4b kicked off on Sunday night and I got cosy with a giant cup of tea and a donut to enjoy the new episode on Monday. It did not disappoint. I won't say too much to avoid spoiling it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but I'm loving the Queens of Darkness - particularly Cruella at this point. I'm intrigued to see where they're going with this, and I have a feeling (having seen some promo photos for upcoming episodes) it's going to complicate things for Emma, but we'll see. Still loving the Emma/Killian scenes, very nicely done in this episode, and Robert Carlyle will never cease to amaze me. He is just brilliant.

Films

The Theory of Everything

After all this time, I finally went to see The Theory of Everything at the weekend. Roisin and I accepted that this would be a situation where you leave the cinema having had a good cry, and while I think our makeup actually faired pretty well, it really was an emotional couple of hours.

Eddie Redmayne's performance was absolutely incredible - he thoroughly deserved that Oscar, and all the other recognition he has had for playing Steven Hawking. Felicity Jones was excellent too, and while the film obviously deals closely with what Steven is facing, a huge part of the story is what Jane, his wife, went through, and she handled it beautifully. If you haven't seen it yet, I would definitely recommend seeing it at some point if you have the chance - it's an amazing film, about an amazing couple, and it has made me even more determined than ever to get around to reading A Brief History of Time!

Tiny Furniture

And last for today, we have Tiny Furniture, a Lena Dunham film I found on Netflix a few weeks ago. For any recent graduates, this is a must see. It's a quiet film, and nothing too dramatic happens along the way, but it really does reflect what life can be like when you leave the cosy bubble of the university or college environment and have to try to figure out what to do next. Dunham's character Aura moves back in with her mum and her sister, and struggles with career decisions, friendships, relationships, and mostly just wants to hide under her duvet, which is somewhere I think we've all been (unless you're one of the rare few who managed to get a job straight out of uni!). As I said, this isn't an intense or life changing film, but it is certainly a comforting one if you have found yourself in Aura's shoes. It's one of the things I love most about Film and TV (and books) - you can always find someone to relate to, whatever your situation is, and that in itself can make things just a little bit easier.


That's it for today - I hope you enjoyed this and I would definitely recommend checking out all of the above! Next on my must see list are the live action Cinderella, which comes out at the end of the month, continuing on with my PLL binge, and getting properly started on Parks and Recreation - all the love for Amy Poehler.

What have you been watching recently?

Thanks for reading! :)